Cavaliers (35-22) 101, Knicks (10-45) 83
The Cavs went up on Langston Galloway’s Knicks 40-17 in the early second quarter, so, yeah…
LeBron and Kyrie Irving each led Cleveland with 18. Kevin Love double-doubled with 16 and 16.
The Knicks hit 3/19 threes and attempted just 7 free throws. Galloway (5/14) led the team in scoring. Jose Calderon, incredibly the team’s most recognizable player, hit 2/9 shots with 2 assists and 3 turnovers in 28 minutes.
Hawks (44-12) 97, Bucks (31-24) 86
Atlanta bounced back nicely last night after an ugly loss on Friday night. They opened the fourth on a 15-4 run and put away what had been a tight game.
Paul Millsap exploded for 23 points and 16 boards (8 offensive). Kyle Korver hit 4/9 threes.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton led the losing team with 19 each.
Pistons (23-33) 106, Wizards (33-23) 89
Washington led by five at the break last night before Detroit caught fire in the second half.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope led all scorers with 26, connecting on 6/13 treys and 10/20 shots overall, and Andre Drummond (18 and 16) and Greg Monroe (15 and 15) both posted big double-doubles in the win. Meanwhile, Reggie Jackson debuted for Detroit and scored 17 points with 5 boards and 5 assists.
Washington’s high man was Marcin Gortat, who dropped 24 (12/18) with 10 boards. John Wall couldn’t get much to fall (5/16) but did hand out 12 assists with just 2 turnovers.
Pacers (23-33) 104, Warriors (43-10) 98
An 8-0 run by Golden State had them within one in the fourth quarter, but the Pacers answered back and finished strong.
Rodney Stuckey led the way with 30 points off the bench in just 28 minutes. Indy’s offense mostly ran through him down the stretch and he answered in a big way. CJ Miles added 13 and 9.
Stephen Curry sat for the Warriors and the team turned into a one-man show. That man, Klay Thompson, dropped 39 (10/10 FT), but the Dubs shot just 38 percent overall. Curry is considered day-to-day.
Magic (19-39) 103, Sixers (12-43) 98
Philly nearly stole a win last night behind the likes of Jason Richardson and Tim Frazier. The Sixers were within a point with 1:37 left, but Orlando scored the next five to put the game out of reach.
Nikola Vucevic, briefly a Sixer, dominated the paint on his way to 31 and 14. Victor Oladipo added 17, and Elfrid Payton tallied 10 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists.
Philadelphia’s leading scorers were Robert Covington and JaKarr Sampson with 16 each. Isaiah Cannon posted 14 and 3 in his start at PG.
Thunder (31-25) 119, Nuggets (20-35) 94
OKC has shown they’re in pretty good hands when Russell Westbrook runs the show, and that was the obvious last night. Westbrook (21, 17 and 8), Enes Kanter (20 and 12) and Serge Ibaka (20, 8 and 8 blocks) all had huge games. Dion Waiters (17) and Mitch McGary (10 and 7) had nice nights off the bench, too. Durant’s foot will reportedly be reevaluated in a week.
Denver, now playing without Arron Afflalo and JaVale McGee, looked pretty much the same as they have all year. Ty Lawson scored a team-high 17, and Danilo Gallinari scored 16.
Mavericks (38-20) 92, Hornets (22-32) 81
Dallas jumped out to a quick double-digit lead last night, and boxed Charlotte out from there.
The offense wasn’t particularly sharp, but got the job done with the Hornets struggling. Monta Ellis scored a team-high 23, while Dirk Nowitzki hit just 3/7 shots in 25 minutes. Amar’e Stoudemire scored 14 points in 11 minutes in his Mavs debut.
Mo Williams dropped 22 for Charlotte. He posted 24 and 12 starting for Kemba Walker on Saturday, and looks like a nice low-key addition for a team with playoff hopes. Al Jefferson had a rare ugly offensive night: 8 points on 4/16 shooting and zero trips to the line. (He did grab 17 rebounds.)
Grizzlies (40-14) 98, Blazers (36-19) 92
Portland led by 13 at home after three last night, which nearly always leads to a win. Memphis quickly went to work in the fourth, though, and took a two point lead with four minutes to go. Both teams then went back and forth a little bit before a late jumper by Marc Gasol iced the game.
Each Memphis starter scored at least 12, led by Gasol’s 21. Courtney Lee was very efficient, scoring 19 on 6/8 shooting and 5/5 free throws.
Portland was without LaMarcus Aldridge (thumb), and they needed him down the stretch. Damian Lillard shot 7/17 for 18 points, and Nic Batum added 17. Wesley Matthews struggled badly, missing all 7 of his shots from the floor.
Lakers (14-41) 118, Celtics (20-33) 112
The Lakers led by seven with 35 seconds left and possession of the ball in regulation last night before an unbelievable collapse.
They committed offensive fouls in consecutive possessions, quickly allowing the Celtics to slice five points off of the lead. Up by two with 12 seconds left, Nick Young then knocked down two free throws to expand the lead. After a Celtics bucket, Young then split free throws to put the team back up three. And then…
The Lakers amazingly regained their composure in OT. Buckets by Jeremy Lin and Carlos Boozer put the game away.
Lin was the game’s high scorer with 25. Wes Johnson hit 9/11 shots for 22 and Nick Young added 19. In pure ’14-15 Lakers fashion, LA’s top three scorers came off the bench.
Boston’s top two scorers did, too. Isaiah Thomas dropped 21 in his C’s debut, and Jae Crowder scored 22.
